Wilsons ?
Bear Huntin'est Family
By Bill Sharpe
(reprinted by cou.'tecy of the
FORD TIMES)
? Per, X. C. - ha, been
the W..S n. v>. the bears for well
over a hundred ye.;:?, ar.d .t saern*
to be a tie. The bear-hun:inest
family m America, with its tra
ditions going back to Big Tom
ilson himself, is carrying the feud
on into the fourth generation; but
Ewart Wilson, present overlord of
, the bear-lands below Mt. Mitchell,
admits there are more bears now
than there were when his great
grandpappy. Ned Wilson, settled
on Cane River. And he's happy
about it. because there's nothing
a Wilson likes better, than to go'
after a bear.
Big Tom, legendary woodsman
of this region, killed 113 of the big'
brutes in his days. Adolph, his son, I
counted 112 of them, and then hung 1
up his rifle, determined not to beat
the record of his illustrious father,
although old Dolph would go on
the hunts to "ear" the race. Ewart'
has over 50 to his credit, and I
Ewart s son, Ned, last year started
his career as a driver and got his
first animal.
The bears of the Black Moun
tains and the Wilsons of the same
address, are respectfully acquaint
ed with each othef. It is remem
bered that once Big Turn had two
cubs treed, but he was sans gun or
dog. The frightened cubs started
climbing down the tree, anxious
to be elsewhere. Big Tom lit pine
torches in an attempt to keep them
treed, but they came right on down.
Fearful of being disgraced by al
lowing such an easy haul to get
away, Big Tom, yelled.
"Stop!" he roared. "This is Big
Tom a-talkin' to ye!"
Whereupon the cubs, havijig
heard that dreadful name from
? their parents, promptly scampered
back up the tree.
The hostilities have been carried
on without acrimony or animosity.
In spite of his depredations, the big
black souther, bear is too highlv
regarded by the Appalachians to
arouse their hatred. He is, to the
true mountaineer, the noblest and
wisest adversary of the f,,rests and
the sume relation to the south
ern Highlands that #the tiger has
to India, the lion to Africa, and the
buffalo to our plains. He is a wor
thy, cunning and utterly fascinat
ing quarry. To the Wilsons and
their hounds he is a perpetual and
peisonal challenge.
A traveler from Bo>;on (Charies
Dudley Warner), wh.> stopped at
their home around 1870, describes
in his diary how, in listening to
Big Tom. the man suddenly seem
ed familiaj-, and then he realized
he was keeping company with
Leatherstocking himseli. His fame I
as a woodsman was already so
great as to have turned Warner
!uW.af,'l.h'S home' and he admits
that 'Big Tom himself weighed in
the scale more than Mt. Mitchell
and not t0 see him was to miss one
of the most characteristic produc
tions of the country."
Lor.g alter he had gone to bed,
the traveler heard Turn describe
the dry's hunt to his son (probab
\v Adoiphus). No, he had not
glimp.-ed the bear, but he knew it
well. He described in detail its
probable weight, sex and disposi
:ion; the trail crossed this stream
or that, and headed toward a fam
iliar cove or ridge; the bear likely
would feed in such a hollow to
morrow, where already plans were
made to catch it.
B:g Tom was, however, no back
woods bragadoccio. In Asheville,
old-timers remember the story of
the Southern Society of New York
banquet he attended near the end
of his life. Orators dwelt at length
upon his deeds and qualifies, and
at last Big Tom was called upon to
respond to the tribute.
The old fellow, now with a long
white beard, arose and with digni
ty gave this speech:
"I'm glad I seed you, because if
I hadn't seed you I wouldn't of
knowed you."
It is slavish work, taking bear
in this country, and only Uie most
stout-legged of men attempt it the
. Wilson way, The country is preci
| pitous?Yancy is the most rugged
i county in all eastern America ?
and it is characterized by exten
i
sive rhododendron "hells" and
laurel "slicks" through which even
a lean and determined hound can
hardly worm. A man got lost ih a
Smoky Hell in the last century and
; it took him nine days to find his
way out. But Big Tom would leave
home alone with a handful of corn
meal, and stay for a week, living
off the game, making pones from
the meal and water, caching his
kills# and returning with horses
later to pick them up.
| Today, Ewart, sophisticated by
; frequent contact with city hunters,
establ.shes his guests on stands,
I and drives the bears toward them,
but when he is on a hunt alone or
with his neighbors, they not in
frequently chase a bear for two or
more days, eating as best they can
, < r not at i ll. Ore time, the fam
i i.-i ed Ewart came upon a deserted
camping site and ate the potato
peelings he found there. And once
on a hot chase, without food all
day, he encountered some campers
who offered him bacon and bread.
Fearful that the chase would get
away from him, he did not take
time to cook it but stuck the raw
bacon between slices of bread and
munched it as he ran after the
pack.
When Big Tom lived* the hunters
came from afar in wagons or on
horseback, following a rocky road
up the river valley. When the Wil
son house overflowed, they camp
ed nearby ? sometimes for weeks.
I Now they come purring up in
shiny automobiles ? a doctor from
Atlanta, a publisher from Ashe
ville, a utility President from Ral
eigh, and many others. These are
D I T 7 THEATRE
Em I I M? WEEKLY PROGRAM
Night Shows: 7:00 6 9:00 P. M.?Mat. Sat.?Late show 8at. 10:30
Adm.'.Adults 36c incl.?6hildren under_12_yrs;_12c_tax_j_nc.
#
Saturday, February 28
PRAIRIE EXPRESS
JOHNNY MACK BROWN
OWL SHOW?
BLONDE SAVAGE
LEIF ERICKSON AND GALE SHERWOOD
Sunday, February 29
REPEAT PERFORMANCE
LOUIS HAYWARD AND JOAN LESLIE
Monday and Tuesday, March 1-2
WYOMING
WILLIAM ELLIOTT AND VERA RALSTON
Wednesday, March 3
NEWS HOUNDS
LEO GORCEY AND THE BOWERY BOYS
Thursday-Friday, March 4-5
MOTHER WORE TIGHTS.
BETTY GRABLE AND DAN DAI LEY
All Children not in arms will have to purchase a ticket to enter
any performance at thl? Theatre.
members of the B:g Tom Wilson
Bear Club which has leased hunt
ing r.gr.is uii the 13,0JU-acre boun
dary from the Wilson heirs. But
by tacit agreement, the club can
not deprive the old bear-hunting
neighbors of the family from their
ancient privileges, and so the citi
fied outdc^orsmen mingle with the
Duggins f:om Avery, and the Plotts
from way over in the Smokies, and
others. .
There is little generalization in
the bear talk around the Wilson
fireside because the Wilsons firm
ly believe that in each bear are in
carnated individual and sometimes
almost human characteristics.
There are mean bears and scarity
bears. Some are sheep and calf
raiders, others are wary of the
lowland farms. Then there are
bears that will run, and others that
will stand and fight; there are dog
killers and timid tree-climbers;
and some are wise and some are
foolish.
Method of chasing the bears has
altered somewhat since the days of
Big Tom. Now the hunters drive
up the Big Tom Wilson toll road
as far as they can, and then are
placed on stands along the bed of
the old lumber railroad. The driv
ers start out with the pack in leash,
led by a wise old "finder" dog.
The finder is almost invariably the
dean of the pack, often too old to
do any chasing himself, but with
a keen nose. The finder gets the
trail and gives voice, and the
fighting pack takes up the scent.
?'After a "starter" dog has found
a trail, the rest of the pack is set
upon it for the drive. The smart
bears often head for the Mt. Mit
chell game refuge, knowing they
are safe there, but sometimes the
pack gets between them and the
refuge and they are trapped. In ]
this case, the bears head for the!
most inaccessible places, or to a
good fighting ground. There, if
bayed by the dogs, they may climb
a tree or fight it out. But a good
dog will stick on a trail against any
obstacle. Ewart keeps about 12
dogs now (Blue Ticks or Black
and Tans mixed with Norwegians
and Plotts) and he admits, with the
taciturnity of the Appalchian, that
they're "pretty good." Sometimes
hunters bring other dogs, and oc
casionally a fresh pack is put onto
a trail when the first pack is worn
out. However, Ewart says he has
known a dog to follow a trail clean
out of the county. He has seen a
famished, forlorn and weary pack
following a trail, bawling weakly,
;ind going at a walk, but still in
tent on the hunt.
But you don't have to train a
bear dog. "One of the bitchcs will
litter, and those pups have never
seen a bear or even a bear skin or
a bear bone. But you take them out
and they won't pay any attention
to rabbits, squirrels or anything.
Let them strike a fresh bear scent,
and they're off and no telling when
they'll come home."
That's kind of the way the Wil
sons are, too.
John Smith Returns
To India Sunday
John "W. Smith, who with Mrs.
Smith and their two children have
been spending the past few months
in Sylva with Mrs. Smith's moth
er, Mrs. C. Z. Candler, left Sun- i
day, February 15. for New York,
where he sailed on Friday, Febru
ary 20, aboard the Dutch ship.
"Borneo", to return to Bombay,
India, to resume his work with \
the Standard Oil Company. Mrs.,
Smirh accompanied him to New
York and will visit Mr. Smith's
relatives before returning to Sylva.
Mr. Smith hr.s been connected j
with the Standard Oil Company j
in India for about 16 years. Mrs.
Smith and the children plan to re
turn to India in July.
Too Late To Classify
LOST?In or near theatre a few
weeks ago a small yellow
gold Colbert wrist watch. Initials i
R. M. B. scratched on back. Return
to Mrs. Floyd Bumgarner, Sylva,
N. C. ; 39*
H Stuffy Hose
SooUs
Tonight
A little Vi-tro-nol
in cach nostril quickly opens up
nasal passages to relieve stuffy
transient congestion. Invites rest
ful sleep. Relieves sniffly. sneezy
dlstre&& of head colcs. Follow direc
tions in the package Try it!
VICKS VATRONOL
EMPLOYEES STRIKE !
(Continued from page 1)
occurred, we want to state some'
facts leading up to and pertain
ing to it. At this season of the
year we always have a drop in
our volume of -business which
necessitates the reduction of the |
number of our employees.
"We have experienced a very
substantial drop in business which
was responsible for our laying off
three employees on Feb. 20. They
were not laid off because they had I
signed Union cards because the j
management was never approached ,
by any Union Representative nor
informed that a Union was being
or had been organized in the plant
when the strike occurred. Had we
been approached by a properly
cer^fied Union Representative, we
would have discussed the matter
with such a representative. Our
position in this matter is that our
employees who want to work be
allowed to get into the plant for
work which they have a right to
do.
"We appealed to the Mayor who
provided us with police assistance
this (Wednesday) morning, but
none of our employees other than
the office force were permitted to
enter the plant. The whole matter
has been referred to the State Dept.
of Labor for consideration.
"HARRY FERGUSON,
' "Managing Partner."
The statement from Mr. Eugene
Hall, representing the unions of
this area, who is directing this
strike, is as follows: "On Friday
February 20 several of the work
ers who had signed union cards
were laid off for having come up
short in their work, according to
j the management, when a fourth
employee offered to assist the
three employees that had been laid
off in catching up their work she
was also laid off. With this and
the fact that the employees had
asked management for a contract
and union recognition, which was
refused, the strike waa called.""
"The employees are ready and
willing to return to work as soon
as the management will agree to
negotiate a union contract with the
workers, the details of the con
tract to be worked out after they
return to work."
When permanent roosts are used
on the turkey range, they should
be enclosed in a tight wire fence
to keep the turkeys out during the
day and the foxes, dogs, and other
varmints out during the night.
Since about 6d per cent of the
total cost of producing a market
turkey is feed, much of this should
be produced on your own farm.
COME TO
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Here is where you find all
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We sell only the best at all times.
Come to Schulman's today and select
your new spring outfit
FRIDA Y DOOR BUSTERS
The Famous Arrow Shirt
White Broadcloth
The Famous Hull Collar
First quality On sale for
Regular $3.95 Shirt *^oo
EACH
Limit One To A Customer
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WHEN YOU BUY IT AT SCHULMAN'S YOU KNOW IT IS THE BEST
SCHULMAN'S DEPT. STORE
Fine Footwear
Phone 151
"STYLE CENTER OF SYLVA"
*
Sylva, N. C.